Former executive gets $1.4M settlement for 'sham' dismissal by Harper government
OTTAWA — The Harper government has been ordered to pay nearly $1.4 million in damages and psychological injury for its "sham" dismissal of a high-powered executive recruited to revamp its real estate operations.
In a sweeping ruling, the Public Service Labour Relations Board concluded last week that former Public Works adviser Douglas Tipple's layoff in 2006 was nothing more than a "disguised" termination.
Adjudicator Dan Quigley concluded the government used Tipple's termination as a "scapegoat" to cover its own mistakes and silence the gathering political storm over an ill-fated trip to Britain at the centre of a minor diplomatic flap.
The board has rarely made such awards, but Quigley said that Tipple's "sham and camouflage" dismissal protected the government's interests at his expense and awarded him damages and interest for lost reputation, wages, bonuses, benefits and psychological injury totalling $1.4 million.
"This is a decision that is 100-per-cent in favour of the grievor and 100-per-cent against the government. This is a stinging indictment of the government," said lawyer Stephen Victor who represents Tipple.
"In a democratic society where we are governed by the rule of law to treat a valued employee in this manner is totally abominable."
Quigley also ordered the government to pay damages for "obstruction of the process" for its refusal to comply with the board's many disclosure orders to produce documents and other records.
"Mr. Tipple's unblemished reputation as a senior executive was tarnished in a six-week period. He can now find solace in this decision that recognizes his reputation was sacrificed to salvage that of Public Works and Government Services Canada," Quigley said in the decision.
The government has the right to appeal the ruling and seek a judicial review to set aside the decision.
The ruling is a damning indictment of then-Public Works deputy minister David Marshall and his department's handling of Tipple's dismissal. Tipple's job was hastily abolished following the media storm over the trip to Britain.
Quigley concluded Marshall had no justification in getting rid of Tipple and misrepresented his reasons for doing so. An internal report that was never released exonerated him from any wrongdoing on the trip.
He said he found Tipple a credible, forthright witness compared to the evasive and often reluctant testimony of Marshall. He said Marshall was "disingenuous" and "callous" in his handling of Tipple whom he called "one of his boys" and his conduct "unfair, in bad faith by being untruthful, misleading and unduly sensitive."
Tipple and David Rotor were two high-powered executives Marshall recruited as special advisers to remake Public Works' purchasing and real-estate arms. The overhaul, known as the Way Forward, was supposed to save $1.2 billion over five years.
But Marshall dismissed Tipple barely a year into his $360,000-a-year-contract, ostensibly because he was so successful that his services were no longer needed for the full three- to five-year term and could be handled by the bureaucracy. Rotor was also dismissed.
Until then, Marshall had praised Tipple's work, gave him a $26,000 bonus for "surpassing" his performance goals, and acknowledged his work had already saved the government $150 million a year.
The dismissal came as Tipple and Rotor found themselves in the spotlight over published reports about several missed meetings when the pair travelled to London in June 2006 to meet various British officials about issues related to their portfolios.
Various allegations swirled about the trip, including that they had missed meetings. This prompted letters of apology from Public Works and the High Commission in London to British officials. Tipple, who had attended all his meetings, wasn't consulted about the apology.
The allegations eventually hit the media and that's when public works minister Michael Fortier's office got involved.
A few days later, Marshall said he met with Fortier who questioned if his "experiment" with high-priced advisers was working.
Marshall testified the minister didn't pressure him to terminate Tipple, but the discussion "crystallized" his thinking that Tipple's work was largely done.
Marshall testified that he began thinking about terminating Tipple in May because the appointment wasn't working out.
His reforms were causing upheaval in the department and the government's showed little appetite for his ideas.
Despite his misgivings, Marshall approved the London trip in June and picked up Tipple's $2,400 club membership in July.
Quigley, however, said evidence showed the work wasn't done and Tipple's duties were taken over by bureaucrats.
The hearing also shed a light on the inner workings of a government and department obsessed with communications, spin and managing the media. Quigley said the government's communications strategy was "self-serving" and was only aimed at protecting itself from political embarrassment and scandal with no regard for its impact on employees.
"Unfortunately, this was done at the expense of Mr. Tipple's reputation," Quigley wrote.
At every turn, Tipple wasn't kept informed nor allowed to publicly address allegations against him. He wasn't kept in the loop on the "media plan" and communications strategy as media published allegations that he felt tarnished his reputation.
Quigley said the government had an obligation to protect Tipple's reputation, especially after expressly directing him not to talk to the media.
He said the government could have stopped the controversy and saved Tipple's reputation by releasing a report conducted by Public Works senior risk officer Shahid Minto. That report exonerated Tipple from any wrongdoing and found he had attended all the meetings related to his portfolio while in Britain.
Instead, Quigley argues Marshall made matters worse and further damaged Tipple's reputation by dismissing him "in an atmosphere of scandal."
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